„Robinson Crusoe”

1. „Robinson Crusoe” • His life and surprising adventures

2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hx7igSRXs6w https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hx7igSRXs6w

3. About the author... • He was born into a middle class family of Dissenters in London, in 1660 • He devoted himself to business • In 1685 he took part in the Duke of Monmouth’s rebellion against James II and three years later he joined the army of William of Orange during the Glorious Revolution

4. Queen Anne had himarrested, triedandimprisonedbecause of a pamphlet in favor of the Dissenters • Made three appearances in the pillory which turned into triumph when his friend threw him flowers. • he started "The Review" • He denied his Whig ideas and worked for the govern as a secret agent • When he was sixty he turned to prose fiction • He died alone in 1731 Ron Embleton (1930-1988), Daniel Defoe. Private Collection.

5. Defoe’snovels: structure • Fictional autobiographies. • A series ofepisodes and adventures. • Unifying presence of asingle hero. • Lack of acoherent plot. Retrospective first-person narration. • The author’spoint of view coincides with the main character’s. • Characters presentedthrough their actions.

6. The structure “Robinson Crusoe” is a travel narrative, which id divided in three sections: Crusoe’s early life and time up to his shipwreck His twenty-eight years on the desert island How he leaves the island THERE IS NOT A REAL PLOT BUT A CHRONOLOGICAL SEQUENCE OF EVENTS!

8. Robinson Crusoe: the story • Born in York in 1632 of a German father and an English mother, Robinson Kreutznaer, anglicised Crusoe, leaves home at the age of 19. • He travels around the world to make his fortune. • His first voyage leads him to Guinea and then back to England.

9. 4.Robinson Crusoe: the story • He becomes the owner of a plantation in Brazil and sets out on a voyage to Africa to get more slaves. • During this journey he is shipwrecked on a desert island where he will remain • for 28 years. • When he returns to England,he discovers that his plantation in Brazil has made him very rich.

10. Alexander Selkirk Robinson Crusoe’s adventures are based on the experiences of a Scottish sailor, Alexander Selkirk, who at his own request was left on a desert island and survived four years of solitary existence until he was rescued by Woodes Rogers’ expedition. The latter published a book („A cruising voyage round the world”) in which he told Selkirk’s adventures.

11. REALISTIC NOVEL • BASED ON A TRUE STORY NAMES DATES • MINUTE DETAILS PHYSICAL SETTING GEOGRAPHICAL PLACE-NAMES • INVOLVEMENT OF NUMBERS AND QUANTITIES • CUSTOMS OF THE MIDDLE CLASS • ROBINSON KEEPS A JOURNAL • AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL NARRATIVE / DIARY • FIRST-PERSON POINT OF VIEW! Typical of the middle class • HIGHLY DESCRIPTIVE LANGUAGE, BUT SIMPLE

12. BILDUNGSROMAN NOVEL It is a narration that traces the psychological and moral development of the character from childhood to adulthood (from the German „formation novel”) Initially Robinson doesn’t listen to his father’s advice, but after he repents his “original sin” and mistakes.

13. Homo Oeconomicus Individualism Realism Puritan Aspects Merchantilism Colonization Pursue for money Nature seen as an instrument to exploit Main Themes

14. RELIGION AND PURITAN ASPECTS The novel may be considered a spiritual autobiography RELIGIOUS REFERENCES HARD WORK MAY LEAD TO A PROSPEROUS REWARD SHIPWRECK = SIN PREDESTINATION CRUSOE ALONE ON THE INSAND= MAN ALONE IN HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD FROM SIN TO CONVERSION OF THE SOUL (REDEMPTION) HE READS THE BIBLE TO FIND CONSOLATION AND GUIDANCE

15. INDIVIDUALISM • The individual is the center of the universe • The main character with his resourcefulness and self-reliance can overcome troubles and misfortune • Crusoe is a typical self-made man (the Augustan new man) • The man can develop economically thanks to persistent work During the 17th and 18th centuries, the term “individual”denotes the isolation from collectivity to reach his/her own needs and desires.

16. Homo faber / Homo oeconomicus Robinson Crusoe is an Economic man, who struggles to achieve maximum welfare and prosperity CAPITALISM his constant pursuit of profit and weak relationships with other people COLONIALISM Moll Flanders

17. COLONIALISM and IMPERIALISM „Robinson Crusoe is the true prototype of British colonialist, as Friday is the symbol of the subject races”-James Joyce Crusoe takes complete dominion over the island after he is shipwrecked: - He sees himself as a king -And others as his subjects

18. The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade From the 16th century African slaves are captured and transported across the Ocean to the colonies in North and South America. There they are forced to work on coffee, sugar and cotton plantations.Crusoe himself deports slaves from Guinea, and makes Friday his servant on the island. Higher being, „MASTER” Superiority ofwhiteman ROBINSON lesser being, slave Friday

19. Triangular trade Europe-Africa-America

20. ~Crusoe as William Shakespeare’s Prospero~ „The Tempest” (1610) is a play in which Prospero, rightful Duke of Milan, is marooned with his daughter Miranda on an island, because of a conspiracy. He can be seen as a colonialist that, exactly as Robinson, creates his own „utopian” reign and enslaves Caliban, the savage who inhabits the isle.

21. The English merchantile spirit began during the Elizabethan Age, when England realised that trade generated wealth. By the end of the 17° century Britain had become the most important trading nation in Europe. Merchantilism

22. the island The ideal place for Robinson to prove his qualities Robinson organizes a primitive empire Not a return to nature, but a chance to exploit and dominate nature

23. the individual and society The society Robinson creates on the island is not an alternative to but an exaltation of 18th-century England, its ideals of mobility, material productiveness, and individualism Though God is the prime cause of everything, the individual can shape his destiny through action

24. clear and precise details the style • description of the primary qualities of objects solidity, extension and number • simple, matter-of-fact and concrete language

25. Moll Flanders Insights into some social problems Set in urban society Women were not able to support themselves legally in 18th-century society Moll is Crusoe’s female counterpart The novel includes «documents» Moll rejects emotional experience

26. Daniel Defoe 9. Moll Flanders • It has insights into some social problemslike crime and the provisions for poor orphans • Moll rejects emotional experience, seen as an impediment to the accumulation of capital • The novel includes «documents»– Moll’s memorandums, quoted letters, hospital bills – in order to increase the illusion of verifiable fact